Business is brisk for mohels: Jewish circumcision rite in high demand

While more Jews are intermarrying or choosing not to affiliate with a temple, local mohels say they are seeing an increase in families wanting to have a bris, a Jewish circumcision ritual.

"It's booming,'' said Dr. Renee Parker, an obstetrician/gynecologist and mohelet based in West Palm Beach. She said even though some people are moving away from organized religion, they still want to feel connected to some rituals.

In a brightly lit country club in Plantation, mohel Michael Andron put on his prayer shawl and set up a table with his instruments, wine and candles as he prepared to circumcise Logan Matthew Davis, who turned eight days old on Friday. A bris is supposed to be performed on the eighth day of a baby boy's life.

"This is his user ID to get into heaven,'' says Andron, who joked to the family that they needed to stay vertical during the ceremony.

Maxine Davis, who organized the bris for her grandson, said it's a tradition that runs deep in her family, passed down from generation to generation.

The Brit Milah is seen by many as the most important commandment in the Torah, one observed without major interruption for more than 5,000 years.

Maytee Davis, Logan's mom, was raised Catholic and converted to Judaism almost two years ago. She said she explained to her family the meaning behind the ritual. The circumcisions marks his entrance into Judaism and the covenant with God. Logan also officially received his Hebrew name.

"It's a wonderful tradition,'' Davis said. "I'm so happy to have my child participate in such a beautiful service.''

It was the first of three circumcisions that day for Andron, who is in his 30th year of being a mohel.

Mohels don't charge a specific fee, but families will often offer between $250 and $500. Some are doctors who have trained to be a mohel, some trained as apprentices under other mohels with long years of service.

"Each [bris] is special,'' said Parker, who began offering her services as a mohelet about four years ago.

She recently performed a bris for Cooper City couple in which the wife was from Ecuador and the husband was an American Jew. So that none of the family felt excluded, a family member translated the ceremony into Spanish.

"Judaism is a religion of inclusion,'' said Parker.

In Palm Beach County, only about 13 percent of Jews are affiliated with a temple, according to the Jewish Federation of Palm beach County. In Broward, it 's 12 percent, said Rabbi Jeffrey Kurtz-Lendner, of Hollywood's Temple Solel.

Still, the unaffiliated recognize the importance of the ritual.

"The covenant of circumcision goes back to Biblical times and it was one of the core defining ceremonies. It defines what it means to be part of the Jewish community,'' said Kurtz-Lendner.

Stephanie Osber, of Davie, said she remembers vividly the bris she had for her son Lucas, now 7.

"I was emotional and scared,'' she said. "But I knew in my heart that this is a very sacred part of what we do."